Counting Stars
by Susan strong
Summary: Zelda Benningfield's life was weird enough on its own. But a man who claims to be the god of thunder? Probably the weirdest thing to happen to her so far.
1. Chapter 1

**Prologue**

"Jane, I _really_ don't think anything's gonna happen tonight."

Telling me to be quiet, Jane continued typing on her computer. It was well into the night and whatever Jane Foster was looking for wasn't happening. She had brought Darcy, a good friend of hers named Erik Selvig, and myself to help her with her search. Normally, I found _some_ entertainment in Jane's little scavenger hunts, but having us stay in her teched-out van in the dead of night was something I didn't find entertaining in the slightest.

After a few minutes, Jane popped through the sunroof of her van and placed something on the top of her van.

And we waited.

"Wait for it," Jane said excitedly.

"Can I turn on the radio?" Darcy asked.

"No."

"Jane, we're bored. Let us have a little fun," I sighed.

" _No_."

And we continued waiting.

"Jane, you can't keep doing this," Selvig sighed.

Letting out a frustrated sigh, Jane went back into the van and looked over her research.

"The last seventeen occurrences have been predictable..." she muttered.

"Jane, c'mon, nothing's happened." I looked at her with an irritated frown. "Nothing's _going_ to happen."

"You're a master physicist, not a storm chaser," Selvig said.

Shoving some of her research aside, Jane went back to her computer and started bringing up more research.

 _She's stubborn, that's for sure,_ I thought. _Typical Jane Foster._

Jane started talking about her research some more—talking about the _connections_ between her research and atmospheric disturbances. She was trying _so hard_ to figure out what was going on with her research and what she considered phenomena, that sometimes it felt like she didn't care how her constant need of assistance for her studies effected us.

I felt a hand go to my shoulder and I looked over and saw Darcy looking at something. Frowning, I looked out the windows, only to see something flickering in the rear view mirror.

"Jane," Darcy called. "I think you wanna see this.

* * *

That flickering light had developed into a giant circle in the sky of different colors. The lights slowly spun around, looking like it was starting to extend to the ground. Jane had ordered Darcy to drive toward it, ready to get as much research and footage of it as she could.

A whirlwind of dust and sand swirled around the lights the further it extended, eventually hitting the ground with a loud _bang!_ after what only felt like seconds after forming.

Dust and sand whipped around the van, a loud crackling sound could be heard inside and, honestly, it was a little creepy.

Before we could get too close to the whirlwind, Darcy jerked the van out of the way.

"What are you doing!" Jane cried.

"This isn't safe!" I exclaimed.

"I am not dying for six college credits!" Darcy cried.

I gripped onto something. The van was jerking around because of the wind. Jane and Darcy continued arguing about whether to keep going into the storm or getting out—and knowing Jane, she'd do whatever it took to stay _in_ the storm.

"Jane, you can't expect us to be OK with this!" I cried.

"We can't leave yet!" she exclaimed, trying to force Darcy to stay within the storm. "We can't!"

Another _bang!_ caused the ground to shake violently, the loud crackling intensified. In a moment of impulsive stupidity—very _unspeakable_ stupidity—Jane yanked the steering wheel and caused the van to jerk in another direction.

And, in a span of a millisecond, run a guy over.

* * *

"I think that was legally your fault," Darcy exclaimed.

The storm had stopped, but dust was still settling and the air felt heavier and staticky. The form of whoever was run over was beside a giant circle filled with strange markings. I knelt down and felt my eyes automatically widen. A tall man with shoulder length blonde hair was laying on his side. He didn't look severely injured, maybe a little bruised.

"Where did he come from?" I asked.

* * *

 **Author's Note:**

 **Yo! This is my first 'Thor' fanfiction, so I hope you guys found it at least decent so far. If you guys have any suggestions on how to make this first chapter a little better, leave a review or PM a suggestion. Whatever you guys want.**

 **I hope you guys can be patient with me while I write this story. I can't promise you guys it'll be the best story out there, cause it won't be, but I always appreciate suggestions, constructive criticism, and things like that. This is only my third fanfic [my other two being a 'Walking Dead' story and a 'Doctor Who' story], so I hope you guys can help me through this.**

 **'Thor' doesn't belong to me, the movie belongs to Marvel. I own Zelda Benningfield, any other characters I add to the story, and any fillers I put in.**

 **Leave a helpful and kind review, please!**

 **Thank you.**

 **Susan Strong**


	2. Chapter 2

**1**

Darcy got the first aid kit while I tried to examine the guy. I rolled him onto his back and studied him closely—he had gorgeous features, _that_ much was obvious—but my main focus was making sure he wasn't fatally injured. But I had no idea how to tell if someone was fatally injured after getting hit by a car.

"He doesn't seem too beat up," I said, looking over at Jane. "Jane? Are you listening?"

"Where did he come from?" she asked, aiming a flashlight at the circle. "There was no one else here."

Sighing, I looked down at the man.

"We should at least take him to a hospital."

The man suddenly let out a gasp before looking up at me with very confused, and very bright, blue eyes. Jumping at his sudden movements, I let out a surprised yelp.

"Does he need CPR, because I totally know CPR," Darcy exclaimed.

The guy kept looking at me, his eyes looking a little glazed over and a slightly confused frown settling on his face. I tried opening my mouth to say something, but I couldn't find any words.

Letting out a groan, the guy stumbled to his feet. He started acting erratic, his hair hanging around his face, giving him a wild look.

"Hammer," he cried, his voice deep and accented. "Hammer!"

Darcy and I shared a look.

"Yeah, we can tell you're hammered," Darcy said. "It's pretty obvious."

The man kept stumbling around, seeming lost and out of place.

"Erik, we need to move quickly before this all changes," Jane said.

"Jane, we should take him to a hospital," Erik said.

"Selvig's right," I said. "This guy could have a concussion or something. He's not acting right."

The man kept stumbling around, looking up at the nighttime sky with an indescribable look on his face.

"Father!" he cried. "Heimdall! I know you can hear me—open the Bifröst!"

Jane looked at the man for a moment before focusing on the circle. "You take him to the hospital. I'll stay."

I threw my hands up in exasperation.

The man turned and looked at us for a moment, still looking disoriented. "You...what realm is this?" he asked. "Alfheim? Jotunheim?"

Darcy took out her taser and aimed it at the guy. I knew that even though Darcy was never really serious about things most of the time, she understood when things started getting out of hand.

"New Mexico," she said defensively.

"You dare threaten me?" the man exclaimed. "Thor? With so puny a..."

Darcy tasered the man before he could even finish talking.

* * *

It had taken a lot of effort to get the man into the back of Jane's van. Seriously, the man was pure muscle and needed three people just to lift half of him off the dirt. Once he was in the back of the van, Jane drove us to the hospital.

The man was still unconscious by the time he was admitted, which we were thankful for.

"Name?" the receptionist asked.

"He said it was Thor," I said.

"Your relationship to him?" she asked.

"We've never met him before," Jane put in.

"Until she hit him with a car," Darcy added.

"I grazed him. But she tasered him."

"Yes I did," Darcy said proudly.

* * *

We waited for about twenty minutes, unsure on really what to do. Were we supposed to just leave him in the hospital? For all we knew, he didn't have a car or a place to go. He was just... _there_.

"It'd probably be best if we called it a night," Erik said. He was right. We were exhausted; and it wasn't like that Thor guy was going anywhere. "We'll check in on him in the morning."

* * *

The next morning, Jane called all of us over to her place to discuss the info she had gathered from the night before. We were still a little frazzled from everything that happened, but Jane Foster seemed to be a bundle of energy—running around like the freaking _Energizer_ bunny.

"You don't think this was just a magnetic storm, do you?" Selvig asked.

Jane was looking over some of the information on her computer, looking almost anxious as she tried to see what she could gather from what she collected.

"Look!" Jane pointed to the screen. "The lensing around the edges—it's the characteristic of an Einstein Rosen-Bridge."

"What?" Darcy and I asked—we weren't very equipped when it came to science-y stuff. Well, Darcy knew more than I did.

"I thought you were a science major," Selvig sighed.

"Political science," Darcy said.

"She was the only applicant," Jane brushed off.

"Seriously. What's an Einstein...bridge thing?" I asked.

"An Einstein Rosen-Bridge is a theoretical connection between two different points in space..." Selvig began.

"It's a wormhole," Jane interrupted.

Sighing, I ran a hand through my dark brown hair.

"I don't even understand why you bring me with you guys," I exclaimed, walking around Jane's apartment. "You guys know I don't understand your science-y stuff."

"You were always one for adventures, Zelda," Jane said, sounding a little dismissive.

Jane had posted pictures of the dust storm from the night before and had them tacked to her wall. Some of the pictures were showing the dust swirl with tendrils of lightning coming through; others were heat signature pictures. I couldn't really see anything out of the ordinary in the pictures, except the ones with the heat signatures seemed to show some weird shaped figure—it looked almost Human like.

"What's this?" I asked, pointing to the heat picture. Darcy walked over and took a look. "Doesn't it look almost like a person?"

"No way," she said.

"Are you serious?" I murmured.

* * *

 **Author's Note:**

 **I hope this update was good enough. Seriously, I would love to hear what you guys have to say about these two chapters. It's always fun reading what reviewers have to say because you guys help make the stories better! Normally, I wouldn't update on days I go to school and work, but I had finished my homework and decided to try and post a new chapter! I hope it was good enough.**

 **Unfortunately, I do not own 'Thor'. Anything in that movie belongs to Marvel. I own Zelda, any other characters I add to the story, and any fillers I put in.**

 **In future updates, I will try and go into a little more depth when it comes to Zelda. I do have something in mind for her, but if you guys have suggestions, please leave a review!**

 **Leave a helpful and kind review, please!**

 **Thank you.**

 **Susan Strong**


	3. Chapter 3

**2**

"So the guy just came through some weird space bridge?" I asked, leaning against the passenger seat. Jane was trying to get to the hospital as quickly as she could. "That's the kind of stuff you hear in sci-fi movies."

Darcy let out a snort. "There's plenty of stuff about _you_ that people only hear about in _fantasy_ movies, Zelda."

I gave her a playful scowl.

"Guys, this is serious," Jane exclaimed. "He's the answer to what happened last night."

"If the guy's willing to talk," I puffed. "He seemed pretty crazy last night."

"Crazy or not, he's got the answers."

* * *

Once we made it to the hospital, we ran inside to the room where Thor would've been in. We had to avoid doctors and nurses, but they didn't really seem too focused on us. A lot of the doctors were talking to security officers and the nurses were trying to get everything organized. When we reached the room Thor had been put in, we were annoyed to find it empty. There had been restraints on the bed, and somehow he managed to get himself out.

 _How does a guy that size just walk out of a hospital unnoticed?_ I thought.

Rushing back to Jane's van, we piled in and tried to calm ourselves down. A potentially crazy guy who might've come through a wormhole was wandering around New Mexico.

"I just lost my most important piece of evidence," Jane said in frustration. "Typical."

"So now what?" Darcy asked.

"We find him."

"Did you see what he did in there?" Erik asked. "I'm not sure finding him is the best idea."

"Our data can't tell us what it was like to be inside that event and he can," Jane snapped. "We're gonna find him."

"For all we know, he could've left town," I said dismissively, watching as Darcy got out her taser.

Right as Jane was pulling out of her parking space, a loud thud came from behind the car. Jumping out, we all stood in shock as the guy from last night fell to the ground.

"These are just not good days for you," I muttered. We scooped the guy up and put him in the back of Jane's van.

* * *

"We'll have to get him out of those scrubs," Jane said, starting up the van.

"None of your clothes will fit him," I said.

I saw Jane's eyes look at me through the rear view mirror before looking back at the road. It wasn't a lie. Out of all of us, Jane was the smallest so, obviously, none of her clothes would fit.

"What about Damien's clothes?" Darcy asked.

A heaviness weighed down on me at the mention of that name. Damien had been my older brother—joined the Military right out of high school, and after two years of service, ended up getting killed overseas. It had been hard on everyone who knew him, but it was extremely hard on myself and our parents. Damien had been the only one in our family who hadn't treated me badly.

"Uhm, maybe," I said uncertainly. No one in my family had it in them to get rid of Damien's belongings. His belongings remained with our parents, who kept it neatly put away in his old bedroom. Aside from the fact that Damien's stuff remained untouched over a span of five years, my parents and I didn't have the best relationship. "But that would require talking to my parents."

"We know you don't get along with your parents, Zelda," Jane started, "but this research is important. We can't keep him in hospital scrubs all day."

I groaned, rubbing my face irritably.

"If this goes to Hell, I'm blaming you guys," I muttered bitterly.

* * *

Erik and Jane offered to watch over the still unconscious victim of Jane's driving until Darcy and I came back from my parents'. They lived in the next town over, which was about a half hour drive from where we lived.

"You know, I could ask instead of you," Darcy offered.

"That's awfully sweet of you, Darcy." I shot a strained smile. "But my parents are really sensitive when it comes to Damien. I will try and talk to them."

"I offered," she said.

The overall ride had been quiet, minus the radio blasting Darcy's favorite station. When we started getting closer to my childhood home, I started feeling my heart beating painfully against my ribs. Pulling up into the dirt driveway, Darcy parked the van and gave me an apologetic smile.

"Good luck."

* * *

I looked at the front door with a feeling of dread weighing down in my stomach. I had knocked, waiting patiently for my parents to answer.

 _It's been years since I saw them last,_ I thought. _Maybe they finally..._

My thoughts were cut off when the door opened and I was greeted by my father's bearded face. He'd aged significantly since I saw him last. His hair was all gray, there were wrinkles on his face I never saw before. The only part of him that looked a little younger were his eyes—the same light blue eyes that seemed to hold a kind of youthfulness no matter how old he got.

"Hey," I said nervously.

A scowl came on his face. "I thought we told you not to come back here."

I crossed my arms over my chest. "I need to pick up a few things."

"There's nothing left for you to pick up." Before he could slam the door in my face, it stopped. My arms were still over my chest, but I had to think of _something_ to keep the door opened. A look of disgust came over my father's face. "You're trying to intimidate me now?" he snapped.

I glowered at him. "Why would I waste my time trying to intimidate the people who abandoned me?" I barked. "You think I asked for something like this? I wanted to be normal for the longest time."

"You better get off this property before I call the cops," he hissed.

"What did I do wrong? I came to get something and you're refusing to let me in." Pushing the door open, I shoved past my father. In the short time it took for me to get past my father, I lowered my mental barriers and felt my mind connect with his.

 _"If I had known she'd turn out to be like this...She's a monster."_

I scowled at him. "I'm not a monster. I'm your daughter."

"Get out of my head," he snarled.

"The best part of being telepathic is that I can tell what people like you are thinking." I gave him my best glare. "And the best part of having telekinesis is that I can control whatever's around me." His body stiffened as I extended my telekinetic abilities to where he stood. "I take it Mom's not home since I can't seem to mentally find her," I said dismissively. Walking up to my father's frozen body, I felt a look of anger and disgust rise on my face. "I'm going to be taking some of Damien's clothes. An...acquaintance of mine needs it." Nodding, I let out a sigh. "But don't worry, once I'm done, you won't have any recollection of what happened."

* * *

"You were in there for a while, I was starting to get worried." Darcy and I were almost back in town, which was a total relief. I had managed to get some of Damien's old clothes, after I tried pushing down the awful feelings that came up. It wasn't long after that I gathered the clothes, managing to take away the last few minutes of our encounter from my father's memory, and leave.

"Yeah, well..." I shrugged, not really knowing what else to say. My parents were never happy about one of their children being a Mutant. No one in our family was one, then, suddenly, there is one. I made sure to study as much as I could on Mutants—I wanted to know as much as I could since my family pretty much tossed me aside. The only person who showed any interest in helping me was Damien.

"At least now we can get that crazy attractive guy some real clothes!" Darcy exclaimed, sounding hopeful. "That way Jane can get her answers."

I nodded. At least that could happen.

* * *

 **Author's Note:**

 **Sorry it took so long to put this chapter up. My internet went down for a little bit so I couldn't finish or post this chapter. Anywho, I hope you liked it at least. I can't say I really like this chapter, but oh well. At least it's up for you guys!**

 **Like I've mentioned before, I don't own 'Thor'. The movie[s]/comic[s] belong to Marvel. I only own Zelda, any other characters I add to the story, and my fillers.**

 **Let me know what you guys think!**

 **Leave a kind review please.**

 **Thank you.**

 **Susan Strong**


	4. Chapter 4

**3**

Once Darcy and I returned to Jane's place, the guy had pretty much regained consciousness. Jane and Erik were trying to keep him detained in the room he was in.

"Finally," Jane exclaimed. "What took you guys so long?"

"We got a little sidetracked," I muttered. Finding the room, I hesitantly cleared my throat and got his attention. Those vibrant blue eyes locked onto me in an instant.

His eye narrowed slightly as he looked me over. "You..." he murmured. "You're the one I saw when I woke."

Flushing in slight embarrassment, I cleared my throat again. "Uhm, I got some clothes for you," I stuttered, handing him the folded clothes. "They were my brother's. They should fit you."

He studied the clothes before looking back at me. Giving a single nod, I took it as his way of saying _'thank you'_.

I nodded and hurriedly left the room.

* * *

We all sat around anxiously as Thor got himself dressed. But the way we saw it, he should've just changed in the room we were in—he was, whether he was oblivious to it or not, changing in Jane's bathroom with the door wide open. A mirror hung on the inside of the open door and revealed everything that was apparently _Thor_. But that didn't necessarily mean Jane, Darcy, and I didn't kind of enjoy it.

"You know, for a crazy homeless guy, he's pretty cut," Darcy said.

Thor came waltzing out of the bathroom shirtless, holding my brother's shirt in one hand.

 _I've never seen a guy with muscles like that before,_ I thought, trying to avoid blatantly looking at his exposed—and very well defined—chest.

"Sorry I tased you," Darcy called.

It seemed like Thor was really liking the attention we were giving him, and didn't seem to be in any kind of a rush to put my brother's shirt on.

"This mortal form has grown weak," he announced, after finally putting the shirt on. "I need sustenance."

"You can have some of my Pop Tarts," I offered.

Looking over at me, a slightly confused look came across his face. "Pop Tarts?"

Going into Jane's kitchen, I grabbed an un-open box of Pop Tarts and handed it to him. He studied it before looking at me, as if he were expecting something to happen.

"Just open it, and they'll be inside," I said.

* * *

"He ate all my Pop Tarts," I said, pouting. It had only taken Thor five minutes to eat the entire box of Pop Tarts and declare to still be hungry. It was obvious that Erik wasn't liking him one bit, it was written all over his face—you didn't have to be a telepath to know that.

"They were very delicious," he exclaimed.

I gave him an almost childlike pout. I could've sworn I saw the corners of his lips twitch at that.

"Isabela's should have enough food for you," Jane said. "Once you're fed, you'll tell us what you know, right?"

Thor's eyes darted to Jane before giving a grunt of confirmation.

* * *

It took fifteen minutes for Thor to order what he wanted—a cup of coffee, three plates of breakfast foods, and two glasses of water—and was starting his second plate in ten minutes.

"How'd you get inside that wormhole?" Jane asked.

"How are you not getting sick?" I asked.

"Also, how can you eat an entire box of Pop Tarts and still be this hungry?" Darcy added.

Thor stuffed his face with more food before downing it with the coffee. It seemed almost impossible for someone to eat so much and not even vomit. Thor was cruising through the food as if it didn't even bother him in the slightest.

"This drink, I like it," he said.

"I know, it's great right?" Darcy said.

"Another!" Thor exclaimed. Throwing it on the ground, I instinctually tried stopping it before it hit the ground. The cup stopped about an inch or two off the ground before Jane elbowed me in the side and I lost my concentration, the cup smashing on the ground. Everyone in the diner jumped at the sound, looking at us with startled expressions.

"Sorry," I said, "it was an accident." Kneeling down, I cleaned up the remaining coffee off the ground before picking up the broken pieces of the cup. Glaring at Thor, I sat back in my seat. He seemed completely fine with everything that just happened. "What the Hell was that?" I snapped.

"It was delicious, I want another," he said simply.

"You could've just _asked_ ," I scolded.

"I just did."

"No." I shook my head at him. "If you want something, you ask _politely_. No smashing things so you can get what you want. Do you understand?"

"I meant no disrespect," he offered.

"No smashing." I gave him a hard look. "Do you understand?"

We looked at each other for a moment. I could tell he was thinking over what I said and I could only hope it was sinking in with him. He seemed so awkward and unaccustomed to everything around him.

"You have my word," he promised.

Right as he continued eating, two men came in and started talking about a crater and a satellite of some sort.

"Zelda, do you think you could...?" Jane whispered.

I frowned. I never really liked using telepathy all that much—it felt intrusive. Well, I would use telepathy when I felt like I truly needed to use it, but other than that, I chose to keep it under lock and key. Thor made a motion to stand up but I put my hand up and stopped him. Lowering the mental barriers just a little, I managed to connect with both of their minds. I found images of a giant crater in the desert, blurred images of people around it, and something in the crater's center. The closer I got to the crater's center, the more defined the object became. Then images of men in black suits showed up.

Putting up the barriers, I left their minds and shook my head. A dull headache was beginning to form.

The two men seemed a little confused, looking at each other for a minute before resuming their conversation.

"What was it?" Jane asked.

"A hammer," I said, rubbing my forehead with the back of my hand.

Hearing me say that immediately caused Thor to jump up and ask the two men for the crater's location. After the information had been given, he simply walked out of the diner.

* * *

Jane stayed for a minute to pay for all the food Thor ate and for the damage he inflicted. I got up and went after him, knowing he wouldn't do so well on his own.

"Where are you going?" I called.

"Fifty miles West of here."

I scoffed. "To do _what_?"

"To get what belongs to me."

"You own a satellite now?" I asked.

Thor looked back at me, a smirk on his face. "It's not what they say it is. You said yourself it was a hammer."

"Well the government seems to think it belongs to them," I exclaimed. "You can't just go in there and take it."

"Yes, I will," he said. He stopped walking and looked down at me. "You did something extraordinary back there. You're no ordinary Midgardian." I thought I hinted a bit of praise in his voice.

I swallowed thickly. "Some people have a few tricks up their sleeves."

A hint of a smile graced his lips. "If you take me there now, I will tell you everything you wish to know," he said, sounding sincere.

"Jane's the one who's more interested in that," I said. "I'm not science-y like her."

"Well, all the answers you need will be made clear when I reclaim Mjölnir," he confirmed.

"Myuh-myuh?" Darcy asked. "What's Myuh-myuh?"

I jumped a little when I heard her voice. I hadn't even noticed them approach. Glancing over at them, I saw the looks of confusion on Jane's and Darcy's faces, but a look that I couldn't really describe on Erik's face.

"Can I have a word, Jane?" Selvig sighed.

Erik, Jane, and Darcy huddled together about a foot from where Thor and I stood. I gave him a small smile.

"So...Thor, huh?" I asked.

He nodded.

"And the hammer is yours?"

"Mjölnir, yes," Thor confirmed.

"Ya know, you're talking about Norse mythology, right?" I chuckled.

A knowing smirk came across Thor's face. "I can assure you, this is no myth," he promised.

I gave an airy laugh. "You're telling me you're the Norse God of Thunder?"

Those vibrant blue eyes started sparkling as he nodded. I ran a hand through my hair and let out a sigh. I had read a few books on Norse mythology, and I did find it a bit fascinating, but I didn't know a lot on it. I knew a fair amount about the Thor in those books, maybe a little bit about the god Loki, but I wasn't very knowledgeable on the subject.

 _I could always just look in his head,_ I thought warily. I rejected the idea. My head was still a bit uncomfortable from reading those guys' minds.

"I'm sorry," Jane sighed. "But I can't take you."

"This is where we say goodbye." Taking Jane's hand, he kissed her knuckles, making her flush and become a bit of a giggling mess. He did the same for me, only his kiss lingered a little and I felt like I was turning redder than a tomato. "Jane Foster, Erik Selvig, Zelda, Darcy—farewell." He gave a slight bow before walking off.

* * *

 **Author's Note:**

 **I hope this update was good! I am going to try and update my stories before later in the afternoon because season 6 of the 'Walking Dead' starts today and I am super excited! So, please leave a review and tell me what you think! What do you guys think of Zelda? How do you think Thor will react when or if she decides to tell him she's got telepathic and telekinetic abilities? Can you please tell me how this story's going so far?**

 **This author's note won't be too long!**

 **'Thor' isn't mine, the whole plot and whatnot of 'Thor' belongs to Marvel. I own Zelda, my plots, and any new characters I add.**

 **Leave a helpful and kind review, please!**

 **Thank you.**

 **Susan Strong**


	5. Chapter 5

**4**

As we were walking back to Jane's place, a bunch of black SUVs and pickups were parked all around her place, men in black suits and sunglasses taking boxes upon boxes of Jane's research and equipment out of her apartment.

Jane froze when she saw one of the pickups drive off with some of her equipment.

"What is going on here!" she cried.

"Ms. Foster, I'm Agent Coulson of SHIELD," an older looking man said. Suited men were packaging up all of Jane's research and belongings, her apartment looking bigger and emptier.

"Is that supposed to mean something to me?" Jane snapped. "That doesn't mean anything to me!"

Selvig ran up and gently pushed Jane back, whispering something to her.

I watched as the men came and went, not even giving us a second glance or listening to what Jane was having to say.

"You can't just come in here and take someone else's stuff," I exclaimed.

The older man's eyes flickered to me, the friendly smile on his face seemed to widen a bit.

"We're investigating a security threat," the man explained. "We need to appropriate your records and your atmospheric data."

"You mean stealing, right?" Jane snapped.

Giving Jane a piece of paper the Coulson man's smile seemed to broaden a little. "This should compensate for everything."

"I can't just _buy_ new equipment from Radio Shack—I made most of the equipment myself!" Jane said.

"I'm sure you can do it again."

"I'm sure I can sue you for violating my Constitutional rights."

The smile soon disappeared from his face, but it wasn't because of the threat Jane made. It almost seemed like he was feeling slightly regretful for what he was doing.

"I'm sorry, Ms. Foster," he said. "But we're the good guys."

"So are we!" I put in.

"I'm on the verge of understanding something extraordinary," Jane cried. "And everything I know about this phenomenon is either in this lab or in this book and you can't just take this away."

Another suited man walked up and grabbed the leather-bound book Jane was holding.

"Do you even have a warrant or anything?" I asked. "Cause I've never heard of this little group you're with."

Another smile came across his face as he regarded me. "We've heard about you, Ms. Benningfield," he said patiently. I felt my blood run cold. "We've been keeping an eye on you for quite some time now."

"What?" I felt like my heart was sinking lower and lower in me—my stomach felt like a ball of fear and anxiety had just dropped in it.

As the rest of the men closed the SUVs and climbed in, the man gave a slight nod and thanked us for _'cooperating'_.

* * *

We all looked around Jane's apartment after those men left. It was big and empty, making it look eerie. A few pieces of bare furniture was left—anything that might have even _resembled_ the research Jane had from last night had been taken.

"They can't do that," Jane murmured. "They can't just come in and take my things."

Erik placed a hand on her shoulder, giving it a comforting squeeze.

"We can figure something out," he said, trying to sound reassuring.

While the others were trying to comprehend what was going on, I was concentrating on the leftover remnants of their mind waves. A person's mind is always thinking, always changing—if I could pick up on at least _one_ mind wave, I would probably be able to figure out why they wanted Jane's stuff. I froze at the near center of Jane's apartment when I felt my mind connect with the strongest remnant.

 _"SHIELD...Aven...Initiative...Research...Fury..."_

"Zelda? Is something wrong?"

I looked over and saw Erik looking at me. They were all looking at me and they looked very concerned. I must've looked strange, slowly walking around Jane's apartment.

Opening my mouth to say something, I closed it.

"Did you find something?" Jane asked, looking at me curiously.

"I think..." I shook my head. "I don't know."

A slightly disappointed look came over Jane's face. I knew she really wanted to understand why her research and equipment had been taken, but I couldn't provide a clear answer. I wasn't even sure if what I picked up would be considered an answer.

* * *

Sitting on the roof of the building, the three of us just stared out at the town. Jane was still pouting over the loss of her stuff. It had been a good couple hours since those men left, and we still didn't have any kind of answer as to why they needed that research so badly.

"Years of research. Gone." Jane shook her head.

"They even took my iPod," Darcy said, sounding sad.

"What do we do now?" I asked.

A heavy silence fell over us as we tried figuring out what else to do. Thor was gone, all of Jane's stuff had been taken—there was literally nothing left for us to do.

"What about the backups?" Selvig asked.

"They took our backups," Jane sighed. "They took the backups of our backups. They were extremely thorough."

"I just downloaded thirty songs onto there," Darcy went on.

"Let's forget about the iPod, OK?" I gave Darcy a slightly irritated frown.

"Who were those people?" Jane exclaimed.

Another silence fell over us before Erik decided to say something.

"I knew this scientist...a pioneer in gamma radiation. SHIELD showed up and he was never heard from again."

"They're not going to do that to us," Jane exclaimed confidently.

"Please, let me contact one of my colleagues," Selvig stated. "He's had some dealings with these people before. I'll email him...maybe he can help."

"They took your laptop, too," Darcy said.

* * *

After all that, I left Jane's and asked if I could borrow her van for a little bit. I had to do some shopping and I didn't feel the need to walk back to my home with a bunch of heavy groceries. Parking the van near a small market I usually buy my things, I paused when I saw Thor wandering up the sidewalk and into a pet store.

Getting out of the van, I hurriedly went into the store and saw the uncomfortable look on the employee's face as Thor stood there.

"Hey!" I called, standing next to Thor. He looked at me and gave a small smile. "I'm sorry if he's bothering you. He just got out of the hospital." Placing a hand on his forearm, I led Thor out of the pet store and into the van. "What were you doing in there?" I asked.

"I need a horse," Thor said simply. "If I am to get Mjölnir back, I need to hurry."

Giggling, I looked at Thor with a crooked smile. "That place doesn't sell horses," I said. "If you want birds or a few cats, that place would work just fine."

Thinking it over, Thor nodded. "Then you will take me there," he announced.

"What?" I looked at him as if he had grown a second head.

"I need Mjölnir back," he said. "I need to prove my worth to Father."

Leaning back in my seat, I sighed and ran a hand through my hair. _This guy's serious about being the Thor,_ I thought. I looked over at him. His vibrant blue eyes were shining, looking around expectantly.

"The government's over there," I said. "We could get in some serious trouble."

"All will be well once I have what is mine."

Giving a frustrated groan, I started the van and pulled out.

* * *

A majority of the ride was silent. Thor was just looking at the scenery, seeming a little distracted for the time being. He still seemed to hold an air of arrogance about him, and I had to wonder if it were truly necessary for him to behave the way he does.

"I've never done anything like this before," I said. "Have you?"

Smiling at me, Thor's eyes sparkled. "Many times."

"That's a little reassuring I guess," I said with a humorless chuckle.

"But you're brave to do it," he complimented.

I shook my head. "Jane had all her research stolen today." I frowned. "She worked on that stuff for years."

"You worry about your friends?" he asked.

"They've been there for me when I needed someone." I swallowed thickly. "Especially Jane and Darcy."

"What happened earlier...with the cup..." Thor seemed almost at a loss for words. "You halted the cup's fall."

Sighing, I shot Thor a strained smile. "I was hoping you didn't notice."

"You have abilities," Thor stated.

"You call them abilities, the world calls it a Mutation," I stated.

"Mutation?"

I looked over at Thor for a moment, arching my brows at him. "Do you see any other Humans stopping a cup from falling with their minds? Or reading some guy's mind to gather important information? As far as I know, I'm the only Mutant in that little town of mine."

"You speak as though it is bad."

"For some people, having powers could be the best thing that ever happened to them. I have telepathy and telekinesis—I can hear what everyone's thinking all the time. It hurts. I had to train for years to be able to block that." I clenched my hands on the steering wheel. "Not to mention my telekinetic powers are a little unstable. I have too much energy and sometimes it becomes too much and it gets released all at once. I was told that I have enough _'psychic power'_ to level an entire city."

I could feel Thor's eyes on me. He wasn't saying anything and I wasn't sure if that was a good sign or a bad sign. For a guy who spoke about Norse mythology as if it were an everyday occurrence, was he going to judge me for being a Mutant?

"On Asgard, almost everyone has an ability," Thor said. "Magic—whatever they wanted. They were not considered _'Mutants'_. My brother is able to wield magic, though he was taunted a lot in his youth. Magic is considered something women usually practice."

"Let me guess, your brother's name is Loki?" I asked playfully.

"Yes." I could sense a lighter tone in Thor's voice when he spoke of Loki. I couldn't help but giggle. "You find this amusing?"

"It's just...I've never met anyone like you before."

"You think me strange?" A playfulness laced Thor's words.

I nodded.

"Good strange or bad strange?"

"I don't know yet." The van lurched a little—I had been driving on the side of the road. After getting back on the narrow dirt road, I looked over at Thor. He seemed completely relaxed. "Who are you? Really?"

A slight smirk came across Thor's face. "You'll find out soon enough."

* * *

 **Author's Note:**

 **I hope you guys enjoyed this update! If you have any suggestions on how I can make the story better, let me know! I'm all for constructive criticism.**

 **'Thor' isn't mine. Marvel owns everything that's 'Thor', I only write fanfics on it. What I do own is my characters and my fillers and an appreciation for the movies.**

 **Leave a helpful and kind review, please.**

 **Thank you.**

 **Susan Strong**


	6. Chapter 6

**5**

"This isn't a satellite crash," I said in confusion. "They would've hauled the wreckage away, not build a city around it."

The area where the supposed crash was had been surrounded by barbed wire fences, bright lights, people in Army vehicles driving around on the inside, people walking around, a huge containment facility had been put up.

"You're going to need this," Thor murmured. He took off his jacket and laid it across my shoulders. The sound of thunder was quietly rumbling, heavy clouds were starting to roll in.

"What're you doing?" I hissed.

"Stay here. Once I have Mjölnir, I will return the items stolen from your friend." There was a fondness in his eyes when he heard the thunder rumbling. "Deal?"

I shook my head. "Those guys down there seem pretty experienced with guns. If I didn't know any better, I'd say those guys are Military. You can't just walk in, grab what you need, and get out."

Thor shook his head. "I'm gonna fly out."

* * *

The thunder had intensified, lightning adding to the mix. I could barely see Thor's figure as he infiltrated the compound, but from the sounds of sirens going off down there, I knew that he had done something either really reckless or really stupid. Maybe both.

"Damn it," I hissed, I tried lowering myself even further so they wouldn't see me from here. Taking out my cell phone, I tried dialing Selvig, but it went straight to his voicemail. "Hey Selvig, sorry I haven't called anyone or anything, but I kinda got sidetracked when I went to go shopping. I...took Thor to the crater site and we might be in some big trouble, OK? Well, not me, but _Thor_ is in some big trouble. Uhm, so if you don't hear from me in the next hour or so, that's why. I'm sorry." Hanging up my cell phone, I looked back down at the compound and chewed on my bottom lip.

I couldn't tell what was happening, only that the men down there were running around with guns, trying to get to where Thor was. More thunder and lightning started rumbling, rain pouring down heavily. I clutched the jacket closer to me, even though I was already drenched.

After a while, when Thor didn't return, I felt a feeling of dread form in my stomach. Had he been captured? I would've considered trying to use my powers, but I wasn't sure what kind of technology was down there.

I clutched the jacket closer to me.

A clap of thunder—louder than the ones before it—echoed.

* * *

It took a lot of effort, but I reluctantly made my way back to Jane's van. I knew that the others were probably starting to worry—it was probably the middle of the night and pouring rain out. Who's to say something didn't happen? Thor hadn't returned from the compound and I couldn't wait all night for him to _possibly_ come back. He claimed to be some Norse god, and whether or not I truly believed him, I couldn't risk my own safety to worry over his.

 _He's got the muscle,_ I thought wearily. _I'm sure he'll figure something out._

So by the time I made it back to Jane's apartment, I got an earful from Selvig.

"He committed a crime!" he shouted. "He's in jail."

"We can't just leave him there," Jane cried.

"Why not?" Selvig exclaimed.

Darcy had handed me a blanket and I draped it over my shoulders. "I don't know if I _really_ believe that Thor's something special, but he's starting to convince me that he might be. He did _some_ thing extraordinary down there," I said. I sighed. "I shouldn't have left him, but I didn't know what else to do. It'd probably be for the best if we got him out."

"Hey!" Darcy interrupted. "It's Myuh-myuh."

I glanced over Darcy's shoulder, a book was opened in front of her. There was an illustration of a hammer with a strange symbol on it. I briefly remembered the hammer those two men were talking about in the diner.

"Where'd you find this?" I asked.

"In the children's section," Selvig said. "I just wanted to show you how silly the story was."

"You're an astrophysicist, right?" I asked. Selvig nodded. "Your whole career is based on finding alternatives to your studies, pushing boundaries—what makes this so silly?"

"This is about science, not magic!"

"Science created Mutants!" I exclaimed. "Whether it was some kind of lab experiment gone wrong or something biological—science created us." Selvig rubbed the bridge of his nose in frustration. "What if that thing Thor came out of was some kind of advanced form of travel? What if there are others out there more advanced than us?"

"Zelda, please..." Selvig started.

"A primitive culture like the Vikings might've worshipped them as deities," Darcy said.

I gave Selvig a pointed look.

* * *

Selvig had gone to go retrieve Thor, after more arguing. It took a little bit longer to try and convince him to go get Thor back, but we were slightly relieved when he agreed to do so. Jane had suggested that, if Selvig's attempt to get Thor out didn't work, I would be able to go in and just use my powers. That idea was immediately shot down by Selvig and myself.

But that didn't mean it wasn't an option. If something did happen to Selvig over there, I wouldn't hesitate to help.

 _But you couldn't help Thor when trouble arose?—Selvig is a friend. Thor...he's... different. I can't explain what it's like with Thor! There's a lot about him I don't understand—And it excites you, doesn't it? All that mystery? It gives you something to do in this boring, little town._

I frowned. There was a part of Thor that did get me all riled up. He managed to bring a little bit of excitement to this town—even if it didn't make much sense. But there was another part about him that I genuinely cared for. I couldn't describe the feeling, but it seemed to start whenever I was near him—like a spark.

"I'm gonna call it a night," Darcy said, letting out a yawn.

"G'night." I smiled at Darcy. She nodded before heading out.

"You should head off to bed, too, Zel," Jane said.

I shook my head. "I'm fine. You go. You look more exhausted than I do."

Jane gave a conflicted look. I wasn't lying. Jane looked absolutely exhausted. I could handle staying up a little later than usual, it didn't bother me—I knew Jane could handle staying up till all hours of the morning if it involved her precious research, but with nothing left to study and analyze, she didn't really have anything to do.

"Zelda, I need to know for myself that Erik comes back safely," Jane said softly.

" _And_ with your research." I gave her a look. "I know it's important for you to have your stuff back, but I have a better chance of fighting off intruders—like those guys in the suits—if they come by your apartment. You've had enough problems for one day. Go to bed."

* * *

An hour. That's how long it took for Selvig to return with Thor. One long, agonizing hour wondering if those suited men had taken Selvig into custody and thinking of all these horrible scenarios on what they could be doing to him. But the two men came back. Only, Thor had Selvig slung over his shoulder, the two men obviously intoxicated, Selvig more so than Thor.

"Is he OK?" I asked.

"He's fine," Thor smiled. While trying to carefully walk through the entrance, Thor accidentally hit Selvig's head against the wall. "I'm sorry, my friend."

"What did you two do?"

Thor let out a chuckle. "We drank, we fought, he made his ancestors proud."

Sighing, I lazily waved to the sofa. "Just...put him there."

As Thor laid Selvig down on the sofa, the two men shared a laugh over the night's events. "I still don't think you're the God of Thunder," Selvig slurred. "But you ought to be."

I stood back, scratching the back of my head awkwardly. Thor looked over at me with a bright smile, one I had never seen on him since the day we crashed into him. It made a warm feeling come into my chest.

"Are these your chambers?" he asked.

"No. It's, uhm, Jane's place," I said. "My home isn't too far from here. I wanted to stay until Selvig came back. With you."

Thor nodded. His blue eyes were boring into me, making a slight shudder run up my spine.

"I'm sorry for leaving you back there."

A warm smile came across Thor's face. "There's no need for apologizing. What I did...it was stupid. I was putting you in danger. If anything, _I_ should be apologizing to _you_."

Looking down, I tried to hide the slight smile that wanted to grace me with its presence. There was just something about Thor's voice that made me feel giddy.

"It's OK," I murmured. "Uhm, do you want to go outside?"

Thor opened his mouth as if he wanted to say something else, but settling with a slightly strained smile and nodded.

"U-Unless you don't want to," I said. "That's OK, too."

"If that's what you wish," he said softly.

* * *

It had taken a few minutes, but I managed to take Thor to my hideout. It was a little open area where I kept a portable fire pit and some lawn chairs. I wasn't sure why I had more than one chair since I never brought anyone to m hideout.

"I come here sometimes when I feel stressed, or if I can't sleep, or if Jane and Darcy are driving me crazy," I said. Letting out a humorless chuckle, I brushed my hair out of my face. "I come here a _lot_ to be honest." Looking over, I saw Thor looking back with a slight smile. "I'm glad you're OK."

"You have been very kind to me," Thor murmured. "I've been far less grateful than you deserve."

"You got hit by a car a couple times so I guess it's OK," I said, semi jokingly.

Reaching into the inside of the jacket he wore, Thor pulled out Jane's leather-bound research book. I looked up at him with slightly wide eyes.

"It was all I could get back," he explained.

Taking it from him, I looked at it in astonishment. Thor had kept his promise, though it wasn't much.

"Jane'll be so happy to get this back," I sighed. "Thank you."

"You always speak of them...always worry for your friends," Thor murmured.

I looked over at him. He looked curious.

"I've known Jane for a long time," I said. "When Darcy joined, she and I became best friends. They accepted me as a Mutant. So did Selvig. My parents had pretty much disowned me after they found out, the only person who kept in contact with me was my brother. After my brother died, it felt like Jane, Darcy, and Selvig were the only family I had left." I shook my head. "I always thought that my powers were a burden."

I could see Thor's face contort a little at the mention of my brother's death. "Your brother died?"

"He was in the Military." I frowned. "Joined right after he finished school. He got killed overseas. I was closer to my brother than anyone else."

Seeing a hand gently cover mine, I looked over at Thor. There was a look in his blue eyes I couldn't quite explain, but it nearly broke my heart to see. His fingers laced through mine, holding my hand firmly.

"What you have...it isn't a burden," he whispered. "It's a gift. Don't think it's anything but that."

* * *

 **Author's Note:**

 **I am so, so sorry it took so long to put this chapter up. I got really sidetracked, but I hope you guys like it.**

 **I don't own 'Thor'. 'Thor' belongs to Marvel, I own my characters and my fillers.**

 **Leave a helpful and kind review, please.**

 **Thank you.**

 **Susan strong**


	7. Chapter 7

**6**

When I woke up the next morning, I was curled up on the lawn chair with the jacket Thor had been wearing used as a blanket for me. Thor was sitting soundly next to me, just looking at nothing in particular. I wasn't sure if he slept at all last night. Sitting up, I stretched, my aching joints popping. Rubbing the bleariness out of my eyes, I let out a sigh. There was an achiness in my lower back, but I brushed it off as discomfort from where I slept last night.

"You're awake." Thor looked over at me, giving a soft smile.

I nodded and returned the smile. "Did you get any rest last night?"

Thor gave an airy chuckle. "I tried."

Removing the jacket, I handed it back to Thor and stood up, stretching my lower back. "Let's head back to Jane's." I tried for a smile. "She'll be wondering what happened last night."

* * *

Jane nearly attacked Thor with a hug when she got her leather-bound book back. I had never witnessed her look so happy before. Thor took Jane's hugs silently and respectfully, returning it with a slightly embarrassed smile on his face.

A groan from the other side of the living room caused all the commotion Jane was causing to stop. Selvig was still sleeping on the sofa, probably terribly hungover.

"How're you feeling?" I asked Thor, after Jane left the room.

"I am well." Thor nodded.

Giving an unladylike snort, I gave a slight smirk. "You and Selvig probably had a _lot_ to drink last night. How are you not hungover?"

Thor gave a slight airy chuckle. "I'm a little different."

"I'm going to make breakfast," I smiled. "Would you mind helping?"

Giving a nod, Thor followed me into Jane's kitchen.

* * *

Everyone gathered in Jane's kitchen after a little bit to help get everything ready for when I finished preparing the breakfast. Selvig had gotten a cup of water and added some medication to help with his hangover.

Once I finished cooking some eggs and toasting some bread, Thor helped me serve it to the others. The one thing I loved about having known Jane for so long is that she doesn't seem to care that I eat her food.

Once Thor and I sat ourselves at the table, we all started eating—Selvig a little more grudgingly so—and started all kinds of conversations. Thor, for the most part, listened intently. He seemed really interested in everything we talked about—why Jane became so fascinated with science; maybe a few hilariously embarrassing stories here and there—things that were just a blast to talk about. Thor, every once in a while, had a question about what we were talking about, or put his own input in what was going on. It seemed that whatever happened last night at the crater really made an impact on him.

After a while, Darcy started telling Thor about all kinds of stuff that were common here, but not exactly where he came from. Darcy tried explaining Facebook and Twitter, what cell phones were and how to use them, the greatness of television—things that seemed to confuse Thor a little.

"Cell phones are what people use to talk to other people when they're not around," Darcy tried explaining.

"Does it rely on some kind of magic?" Thor asked.

"Signals," she went on.

For the rest of the day, that was pretty much how things went down. Thor listened intently as Darcy tried telling him about various social media sites, how to use modern technology...just...everything she could think of.

* * *

Soon, time seemed to pass... _normally_. Thor had become a member of our little circle of misfits, adapting quickly to everything despite having absolutely no knowledge of anything. He seemed to have a vast understanding on Norse mythology—something he considered to be very real and spoke proudly of. But there was a tone in his voice that suggested something must have happened. Whatever went down with Thor and those people at the crater site must've hit him hard.

It had been an unofficial agreement amongst us that whatever happened at the crater site that day would be kept quiet. Whatever happened to Thor stayed with Thor, whatever happened between Selvig and Thor when they returned was kept between them. Jane was enthusiastically restarting her research thanks to Thor retrieving her leather-bound book, seemingly having forgotten whatever occurred between Thor and those SHIELD people. She had something to help her restart her research. That was all that mattered for the most part.

As for whatever kind of relationship was between Selvig and Thor, it seemed to be improving a little. There was still a little bit of reluctance on Selvig's part when it came to Thor and his belief that Norse mythology was real, the rest of us were starting to believe that there was something more—maybe Thor was a little more special than he let on. We couldn't exactly _prove_ it, but we had a feeling.

As for Thor and myself, whatever kind of friendship or relationship or whatever you wanted to call it seemed to be getting better every day. Thor and I talked a lot, we hung around town a lot, we even went shopping together. I told Thor about how to use telephones while Darcy would explain to him how to use social media. He seemed really confused on both topics, but had a willingness to learn.

Just...it felt like Thor would be staying with us for a long time. Despite his mysterious entrance, we couldn't really picture what it'd be like without him.

* * *

"You're getting better at using the television," I said with a smile. Thor and I were at my apartment, putting away some groceries I had bought. Thor was nice enough to help bring them in and put them away, something he had started doing without question only a couple days after the crater incident. I had watched with slight amusement as Thor remembered how to use the remote to control the television.

A slightly prideful smirk came across Thor's features.

"I had a great teacher."

I gave a very unladylike sounding snort. "It's just a _television_ ," I scoffed. " _Anyone_ can learn how to use it."

"But you and Darcy had the patience to teach me all these things," Thor murmured.

I rolled my eyes playfully. "Well, it kinda seems like we're stuck with you for a little while, so..." Thor quickly caught onto the playfulness in my voice and let out a rumbling chuckle.

"I owe all of you my sincerest gratitude for everything I've been taught." A look came across Thor's gorgeous blue eyes. "Not only that, but for accepting me, despite everything I had done."

Smiling at him, I shrugged halfheartedly. "It's no big deal. But that's what I personally say about all of this. I'm just happy you decided to stay with us." Thor smiled in return, his blue eyes sparkling. "I can't believe it's only been a month," I murmured.

Thor let a thoughtful hum.

"You know what? I think we have everything that needs to be refrigerated put away, everything else can wait!" I closed the fridge door and looked at Thor, placing my hands on my hips. "My favorite show should be coming on in about five minutes and I don't want to miss it." Grabbing Thor's hand, we rushed over to where the television was, blaring the news. Using my powers to levitate the remote to where Thor and I were sitting on the couch, I clicked the channel over to where my favorite show was starting. As we got ourselves comfortable, I felt something brush against my back. Glancing at Thor out of the corner of my eye, I took notice that his arm was placed around the back of the couch on where I was sitting beside him. I was starting to notice all these subtle moves or glances Thor would throw my way on occasion. Sometimes he'd brush his hand against mine when we walked; or he'd place his hand on the small of my back when he approached me—all these little things that wouldn't seem like a big deal to anyone, but obviously meant that he was hoping for something more than a friendship. I couldn't say I knew for sure if that was what he wanted, but I perceived it that way.

And that really warmed my heart.


	8. Chapter 8

**7**

Thor and I watched the television for about an hour, and I was sort of aware of how the way we were sitting had changed a little. I was kinda curled up against Thor's side, his arm that was draped over the couch's back was lazily draped over my shoulders. He seemed OK with the position, and I wasn't going to complain. When my phone started ringing, I jumped a little, but rolled my eyes when I answered, Jane telling us to come over. Gently nudging Thor, I smiled up at him.

"Jane wants us over."

With a small smile and a nod, Thor stood up and held out his hand. Arching a brow at that, I took it and he pulled me from the couch. Chuckling at that, I turned off the television and went to the front door.

"Did Jane say why she needed us?" Thor asked.

I shrugged. "She probably found something. She can be pretty vague sometimes."

* * *

Once we reached Jane's apartment, she immediately started bombarding us with theories she had on everything that happened. Thor went over to wash some of her dishes, while the rest of us just listened to her patiently.

"That's a beautiful theory, Jane," Selvig said, sipping from his cup of coffee. "You won't be able to convince the scientific community about any of it. Not without hard evidence."

A knock on Jane's door made all of us turn around. Her apartment was bigger than the others, and she was blessed to have some big glass doors leading outside at the other end of her apartment. So when we turned around, we saw four people dressed in various types of armor on the other side of her glass doors, smiling.

Selvig dropped his cup and it smashed on the ground.

The four people let themselves in and a surprised look came across Thor's face.

"My friends!" Thor bellowed.

"This is good!" the heavier man exclaimed.

"I don't believe it," Selvig stammered.

"Excuse me," the heavier one bellowed, looking at us apologetically. "Lady Sif and the Warriors Three."

Thor walked over to where we were standing—the four of us wide eyed and _very_ confused—and smiled at the four people he claimed were his friends. Those four armor-clad people looked at us expectedly. I could see the surprise change into something else on Thor's face.

"My friends," Thor exclaimed, "I've never been happier to see anyone. But you should not have come."

"We're here to take you home," a slimmer, more well trimmed man scoffed.

"You know I can't go home," Thor sighed. "My father is...dead because of me. I must remain in exile."

"Thor, your father still lives," the woman, Sif I guess would be her name, sighed.

A look of confusion and anger swept across Thor's face. "What?" he growled.

"Your father is in Odinsleep," Sif exclaimed. "Where did you hear something so ridiculous?"

"Loki." We all tensed at the sound of Thor's voice—it was like a growl only deeper and harsher sounding. His blue eyes seemed to darken a little and I could see his shoulders tense.

"You must come back, Thor," an Asian looking warrior put in. "With Loki on the throne, there is no telling what he will do."

"Thor, is there anything we can do?" I asked. Selvig put a hand on my shoulder, the look on his face telling me to not say anything else.

Looking at us, the look of anger on Thor's face softened. He gently put a hand on my shoulder, his thumb gently stroking the base of my neck. I felt goose-bumps rise on my skin.

"Zelda, you've been so helpful to me in my stay here," he murmured, "you all have. But we don't know what Loki has in store with Asgard or if he has any plans for Midgard. I don't want any of you getting hurt."

A loud rumble from the outskirts of the city took us all by surprise. The rumble was so loud and violent that it shook the ground. Dark clouds had appeared and started swirling downward until it hit the ground with a loud thud.

"Was somebody else coming?" Darcy asked.

We all followed Thor and his friends outside. A lot of the townspeople were starting to get unsettled and a few were even starting to run away.

"Zelda, you all need to leave," Thor instructed.

"What are _you_ going to do?" I snapped.

"I'm going to stay here."

"Thor's going to fight with us!" the heavier warrior exclaimed.

"My friends, I'm just a man. I'll only be in the way or worse, get one of you killed. But I can help get these people to safety."

"I'm staying too then," I said. I could see a quick look sweep across Thor's face. "Mutant powers, remember?"

"We need some time."

* * *

Thor and I went into every building we could to try and lead as many people out as we could. We'd help families get their children into their cars, we'd help people gather into their trucks. We didn't even get that many people out of the town before a giant metal man stormed in and started shooting some kind of heat ray out of its face. Those warrior friends of Thor's were trying to distract it as best they could, but the metal man was too strong.

Sif had jumped off of a building and stabbed the metal man in the neck before it could kill one of the warriors, but it only deactivated for a minute before turning itself around and throwing her off of it.

"I can try and contain it," I exclaimed.

"Are you out of your mind?" Jane snapped. "Not even _you_ are that strong!"

"It's destroying the town!" I barked. "It almost killed Thor's friends! I have powers, I can _do something_!"

Before any of them had a chance to stop me, I ran out and stood a couple feet in front of the metal man. Focusing on building up as much telekinetic energy as I could, I forced it out of my body and had it form around the metal man before it could shoot out any more heat rays. I could see its face opening up and an orangey white light coming through the gaps in its body before shooting out. I felt my body jerk back a little but I maintained the force field.

 _I guess having all this power is a good thing,_ I thought bitterly.

I started feeling the energy starting to become a little unbalanced, as if it were starting to unravel, but I forced myself to stay more focused and concentrate harder on keeping everything in check. I forced out more built up energy to keep the previous one from unravelling, and the metal man started shooting out more heat rays and slamming its fists on the invisible barriers surrounding it.

 _If I can just keep it contained, then maybe Thor can think of a plan to stop this thing._ I felt my breathing become more labored, sweat starting to form over my brow. _This thing is strong, but I can hold it off for a little while longer._

A glow came from the inside of the metal man, only it was more of a whitish glow and I could feel the heat all the way from where I was standing. The beam shot out and I felt my body tense up. I swore I heard the others calling out, but I couldn't quite hear what they were saying. My concentration was starting to unravel and I felt the energy around the creature slowly disintegrate. Before the beam had a chance to hit me, I felt the air get knocked out of me and a body on top of mine. Looking up, I saw that lean, well trimmed man hovering over my body, a slight smirk on his face.

"It seems as though Thor has found himself a maiden who is beautiful _and_ powerful," he chuckled heartily.

"What?" I exclaimed breathlessly.

Rolling off of me, the warrior held out a hand after he stood up and helped me to my feet. "It would be for the best if you stayed out," he said, the heartiness in his voice gone. "I can tell whatever magic you used took a lot out of you."

The metal man kept shooting out beams of energy, all of us falling in different directions from the impact of the strength of it.

"Go help Thor!" I said, trying to regain my footing. "He needs it. I've done all I could."

The man shook his head. "You're coming with me," he said. "You're weak. You wouldn't be able to make it out of this town alive."

He helped me make it to where Jane and the others were, trying to lead us away from the metal man. I didn't see Thor and that scared me.

"We can't leave Thor!" I said.

"He requested we find safety," the heavier warrior exclaimed. "We can't fight that."

I stopped walking. "We can't leave him," I exclaimed. "He's our friend. We can't abandon him."

"Oh God," Jane cried. "What's he doing?"

We all turned and saw Thor approach the metal man. He was probably saying something, but we couldn't hear what he was saying. The metal man's face opened up to let out that orangey white beam, but it closed suddenly and the color went away. It turned, as if it were going to walk away, but quickly backhanded Thor, causing him to fly back a couple feet.

Landing on his back and skidding to a halt, I ran over to him and knelt down. Thor's eyes were barely open and there were cuts on his face.

"Why would you do something like that?" I said softly, trying to stop my voice from trembling. I gently brushed a hand across his cheek.

"Because you were brave enough to fight it," he murmured. "You're extraordinary."

"I was stupid."

He shook his head. "It's over," he whispered. I shook my head. "You're safe. It's over."

"You didn't have to do that." I tried to control my voice.

"To protect my friends, I did what I had to do." A small smile came across his face. "To protect _you_ , the Midgardian who showed me the most compassion and gratitude, I wanted to make sure I saw for myself it was done."

When Thor's eyes closed, I felt an all too familiar feeling rising inside me. It was the same feeling I got when I found out Damien had died—an uncontrollable burning feeling in my chest, my stomach flipping and tying itself into knots, my throat closing up—it terrified me, seeing Thor look like that. He was bloodied and beaten.

My hands trembled, my breathing became labored.

I could briefly hear a crackling sound in the distance, then I heard Selvig's voice and his hands yanking me from where I was beside Thor. When he had taken me far enough away, a clap of thunder and lightning shot down to where Thor was and blinded us for a moment.

When the light went away, Thor had gone from his T-shirt and jeans to gleaming armor and a long red cape. He held the hammer in one hand, his cuts having disappeared, as he looked at the metal man solemnly.

"What?" I stammered.

Thor threw the hammer at the metal man before it returned to his extended hand, hitting the metal man a second time. Black storm clouds swirled overhead and twisted down to where Thor and the metal man were, lightning and thunder bellowing, before the two had completely disappeared in the swirling clouds. We could all see the bright orangey white flashes from the metal man, and just as quickly as the clouds appeared, they vanished. Debris fell, the metal man's body lay in a dent in the road.

Strutting out of the wreckage he made, Thor approached us.

"This is your usual getup?" I asked.

"More or less."

I nodded. "Well, then. I guess I like it."

A slight smirk came across his face. "We must go to the Bifröst site," he told his friends. "I'll have words with my brother."

Before we had a chance to leave, that suited man who took all of Jane's stuff came up to us. His buddies were piling out of a black car, their suits covered in dust. "Excuse me," he called. "Donald? I don't think you've been completely honest with me."

"Know this," Thor interrupted, "son of Cole, we fight for the same cause, the protection of this world. From this day forward, you can count me as your ally, _if_ you can return the items you have taken from Jane."

" _Stolen_ ," she corrected.

"Borrowed." That Coulson guy looked at all of us. "Of course you can have your equipment back. You're going to need it to continue your research."

Thor walked up to me and gently tucked some of my dark brown hair out of my face. "Would you like to see the bridge?" he asked.

"You're not gonna take Jane?" I asked softly. "I'm sure she'd really like to..."

He held a hand up and stopped me from talking. "You were the first face I saw when I arrived here. I wish for you to be there when I depart." All I could do was open my mouth before he firmly wrapped his arm around my waist and pulled me to him. Swinging the hammer upward, I felt a gush of wind and we were gone.

* * *

When we landed at the site, I gasped for air. It felt as if the air had rushed out of me. Thor waited until I caught my breath before looking to the sky and calling out for that Heimdall person.

"Heimdall?" he called again. "He isn't answering," he told his friends.

"Then we are stranded," the Asian warrior sighed.

"Heimdall!" Thor shouted. "If you can hear me, we need you now."

The clouds started forming and descending, Thor's friends rushed over to where it was going to land, but Thor was still standing there, not as excited as his friends to go.

I hesitantly walked over to Thor, trying to figure out what to say. He immediately drew me close to him and looked me dead in the eyes.

"I must return to Asgard, but I give you my word, I will return for you," he murmured. He took my hand and gently kissed my knuckles, as if sealing the deal. But when neither of us made any real effort to move, he leaned in and planted a feather-light kiss on my lips.

I leaned in just a little to add a _some_ pressure to the kiss, which I think Thor liked.

When the kiss ended, he sighed and went to stand beside his friends. The bright lights and swirling dust surrounded them and before we knew it, they were gone.

* * *

 **Author's Note:**

 **Next chapter will be the epilogue and then I'll start on an 'Avengers' fanfic. I'll probably have a title figured out by the time the epilogue's up. I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter. Again, I'm sorry if it said that I had the previous chapter up while I was updating this chapter; it says that every time I post a new chapter. I think I mentioned it before. I know a lot of you tell me that whenever a new chapter's been put up, it's only the previous on that shows up. I know. That will go away once I finish the chapter I'm writing and it's been put up. As for what happened with this chapter, my internet's been giving me some problems lately so I wouldn't able to finish this up as quickly as I wanted.**

 **Anyway, I don't own 'Thor', Marvel owns him. I own Zelda Benningfield, her family, any other OC's I decide to put in, and the fillers I had in this story.**

 **If any of you are interested in the 'Avengers' story for the whole OC/Thor storyline, then I'd love to hear from you guys when it's up! But I'd love to hear what you guys thought of this story.**

 **So leave a helpful and kind review, please!**

 **Thank you.**

 **Susan Strong**


	9. Chapter 9

**Epilogue**

Dark storm clouds had formed over the skies, thunder and lightning crackling overhead. I swallowed thickly.

 _What is happening up there?_ I thought.

The ground was starting to shake from the intensity of the thunder and lightning, and it was becoming very unsettling. I hoped that Thor was handling whatever problems were happening.

There was one last, _extremely_ loud clap of thunder before the storm clouds slowly started to disappear. The air was heavy and staticky, and once the sun came out, the heaviness seemed to have intensified.

"Zelda!" I turned and saw Selvig and the others running to where I stood. They looked up at the sky, watching as the sky returned to normal. "Are you OK?" Selvig asked.

I nodded. I felt a heaviness weigh down on my chest. "I'm OK."

Selvig put a hand on my shoulder. "Come on, let's go."

* * *

I was taken back to my apartment. It felt emptier without Thor in it. I had grown so attached to him always being there, that I couldn't really figure out what to do with him not there. I was used to his overwhelming presence, his voice, how he was so gentle. Sitting on my sofa, I became aware of how it seemed so much bigger without Thor sitting there.

 _He promised he'd come back._ I frowned at that. _But he lives in another world, how can I know for sure he'd keep it?_

I shook my head and turned the television on. It was on the news. There were headlines of whatever situation Tony Stark got himself into, and I felt a hollowness fill me.

Turning off the television, I stood up and gave a slightly frustrated groan.

After everything that happened, I couldn't figure out what I wanted to do. I could do so much while I waited for Thor to possibly return, but I was so distracted by him _not being here_ that I couldn't focus.

 _Everything will be fine._ I picked up my cell phone and checked to see if I had any new messages, desperately trying to distract myself. _Stop worrying so much. You can figure something out, you're not as useless as you're making yourself out to be right now._ I closed my cell phone and pursed my lips. Throwing on a jacket, I put my tennis shoes and walked out of my apartment.

"Stop feeling so sorry for yourself," I muttered. "You're Zelda Benningfield. You fought a giant metal man from another world, somehow gained the feelings of an alien, and have powers no one can explain. You're more than self pity."

* * *

The sun had gone down and the air was significantly cooler. The town was still in ruins and some people had started coming back from wherever they ran off to during the attack. I knew they were still trying to believe that what had happened only hours earlier actually _happened_.

Reaching the outskirts of the town, I made my way over to the markings Thor and his friends descended from. It still felt surreal that there were beings from other worlds out there. Pushing aside the whole idea of Humans being born with Mutations, it felt like the world had just transformed into one big sci-fi movie. Aliens, technology beyond our control, advanced forms of space travel—it didn't seem possible.

I looked up at the sky. There wasn't a single cloud. I could see the moon shining down, just barely illuminating everything in a kind of silvery glow. Stars were decorating the sky and I smiled at that. A part of me was kind of hoping Thor was looking down at us, wherever that Asgard place was, and feeling relieved that we were all OK.

When I reached the spot, I looked down at the markings and gave a small smile.

Hearing an engine behind me, I turned and saw the headlights of a car turn on and a man stepping out of the passenger's side.

"Ms. Benningfield." I sighed. I recognized the voice. It was that Coulson guy from SHIELD.

"How did you know I was out here?" I asked.

"I told you, we've been keeping tabs on you." A smile came across Coulson's face as he looked at me through his sunglasses.

"It's nighttime, why are you wearing sunglasses?"

"It looks cooler."

I nodded.

"Ms. Benningfield, there's someone I'd like you to meet," Coulson said politely. Waving his hand, the back door of the car opened and an African American man wearing a long, black, leather jacket and an eye-patch over his left eye came walking up next to Coulson.

"Zelda Benningfield," he said. "We've heard a lot about you."

"How much?"

"Your Mutation, your brother and the incident that occurred in Tallahassee, and everything you've done until this moment."

I swallowed thickly. "How do you know about what happened in Tallahassee?" I asked.

"SHIELD has eyes and ears everywhere, Ms. Benningfield," the man informed. "But I didn't come all the way here to talk about that."

"Then what do you want?"

The man walked up to me and I felt myself stiffen. There was something about him that was intimidating and I couldn't calm down that burning feeling of anxiety forming in the pit of my stomach.

"Ms. Benningfield, I'm here to talk to you about the Avengers Initiative."

* * *

 **Author's Note:**

 **Let me know what you guys think! This is the epilogue, so now I have the 'Avengers' fanfiction to write! I've decided that, if any of you are sort of interested in reading that, the name of the 'Avengers' fic will be Let the Flames Begin.**

 **'Thor' isn't mine, the whole 'Thor' franchise belongs to Marvel. I own my characters and my fillers.**

 **The title for this story I got from the OneRepublic song 'Counting Stars'. I thought it would go well with the story.**

 **So if anyone's interested in Let the Flames Begin, stay tuned for that.**

 **Leave a helpful and kind review, please!**

 **Until next time,**

 **Thank you,**

 **Susan Strong**


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